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Thursday, December 17, 2009

A 40s Precursor to the Walk-Away Dress?

Isn't this dress pattern from 1945 interesting? I found the image in the book Blueprints of Fashion: Home Sewing Patterns of the 1940s, and it looked awfully . . . familiar. Then I realized that the fundamental structure of it is almost the same as the Walk-Away Dress, which I posted about here. (I also admitted to being a little lukewarm about the potential hospital gown vibe of the Walk-Away shape.)The 1945 pattern is kind of cool, I think. Is has an neat little collar and I like the waistline darts that radiate outwards. (Click the top image to see it full-size.) Interestingly, the dress was designed by a high school student named Lola Brooks (great name, huh?). She won the Chicago Tribune Teen-Age Fashion Competition and her pattern was produced by Beauty Patterns, a mystery company that I've seen a few other mentions of from the 1940s.

The reason I was so fascinated by the 1945 pattern is that it kind of diminishes the mystique of the Walk-Away Dress of 1952 (above). According to the Butterick Company history, their "simple yet flattering" Walk-Away Dress so took the world by storm that they had to halt production of all their other patterns until backorders for the Walk-Away could be fulfilled. (I admit, I've always been a little skeptical of that story. The intrepid journalist in me would just like a source other than Butterick to confirm it.)

You see plenty of other variations of this kind of wrap-around dress later in pattern history:

I'd always assumed these patterns were all based on the Walk-Away Dress of 1952, which supposedly was a pioneer in the movement of the ultra-simple wrap around dress. But the 1945 design above refutes that notion to a certain extent. Had this kind of dress actually been popular with home seamstresses in the 40s? Obviously, the Walk-Away is the one that stuck in our cultural history, but I wonder who truly first invented this kind of design? Who knows - perhaps a 20s version will turn up at some point. I can certainly see the wrap design blending seamlessly into a drop-waist flapper silhouette. Isn't it interesting how this simple composition could really work itself into any decade?

What do you all think? Do you like the 40s design above? Or could you do without this sort of dress all together?

38 comments:

The Jiffy pattern--it is-60s? I love it! And the last Butterick pattern in your queue--I had something similiar. There are still patterns for wrap-style pants and skirts, probably all evolvoing from the walk-away dress.

I think these are all really cool, but how wearable are they? That last one really appeals to my mod leanings, but it looks like it would need constant adjustment so that it wouldn't fall off. Maybe if I were so lucky to have that pattern in my stash it could be a swimsuit coverup...

I love the concept, and imagine that it would allow women who were put off by zips and buttons to feel comfortable making something they could happily wear. I'm a big fan of the jiffy dress too and I love the way the first one looks in the illustration. I'd be interested to see how they would look on a pear shape..

I like the silhouette of the '40s dress the best. Is it just me or does it look like the model is giving the talk-to-the-hand gesture like an insolent teenager? I think it adds more dimension to the term "walk-away dress".

I like the full skirt version. I was all set to make the Butterick version of the Walk Away dress with a reversible silk fabric (love the picture and the concept) until I read this post: http://blog.mammamadedesigns.com/archive/2008/05/24/sewing-butterick-4790---a-complete-waste-of-time.aspx

Can someone tell me if they have had a good experience with wearing the pattern?

I really like the 40's one and the one right after the walkaway. The 40's one looks so feminine and I love how the one after the walkaway is just less obviously a wrap...and that it's secured by buttons so a stiff breeze won't expose you. I'm still not sold on the sleeve on the walkaway. It just doesn't look terribly flattering.

The numbers are from my son btw. I just switched from the desktop to my husband's laptop because he pulled out the cord on the desktop while I was commenting. I see it still got up there. I was checking to see if it did and I couldn't figure out why there were all these random numbers were typing until I saw him with the wireless keyboard. So Noah says hi, Gertie.

Rueby, good point about the ancient Greeks. But I meant sewing pattern-wise and who first marketed the idea to the home sewing market. :) But that would be pretty cool if someone found an ancient Greek sewing pattern!

There is also an Advance sewing pattern that is very similar to the walk-away dress and came out simultaneously (6144, 1952) so I've always assumed that the concept was floating around before 1952 and Butterick....I was thinking that it might have been something from RTW of the era, or something that evolved out of those apron/housedress garments that often wrap. This 40s one is the first "dressy" one I've seen, definitely!

One note on the Walk-away -- the original pattern is not a full circle, it's a half-circle. No idea why they changed it in the most recent reissue! (the late 90s reissue is also a half-circle). I would definitely not make it as a circle skirt. Then again, I've had the pattern for years and still haven't made it so...what do I know?

I adore the silhouette of the 40s version--how cool! (Which translates into: must figure out about making one someday... lol) I've seen variations on the idea of a wrap garment in patterns prior to hugely popular 50s version (which frankly--not to offend anyone--just leaves me lukewarm. I really don't care too much for it.). I know the patterns I have seen for similar styles have been mail orders/newspaper patterns; none of the major pattern companies were exploiting this idea in the 40s. Which is odd, considering how much of an emphasis on practicality there was at that point in fashion.

I like the one you posted for several reasons; the fact that it's from the 40s is a big draw for me. But I love the silhouette too--and that it's begging to be made in a pretty rayon or light silk. Plus, what girl could resist the marketing line: "drapes to the figure like a dream"?

Totally different garment, but I thought you might find this interesting. Here's a mid 40s pattern for a blouse that operates on a similar principle:

I definitely prefer the '40s version to the walkaway dress. It has much better sleeves, and I like the fact that the skirt has more of a sarong feel than a "hospital gown" feel. It is clearly designed to use drapy fabrics, which I think is much more appropriate for a wrap dress. I find it intersting that it uses considerably less fabric than the walkaway dress, as well -- there's only one layer to that skirt!

I certainly don't think that all of the patterns for wrap pants and skirts all evolved from the walk-away dress, like gwensews thinks. This 1945 pattern is a great example. Also, I have a pair of traditional Indian wrap pants that I am certain can't be traced back to the walk-away dress. I think wrap skirts, and possibly even Butterick 4699, above have their origins in the traditional sarong, ad I think that wrapping around is really a totally different construction concept than wrapping over (or under, for pants) your body.

I'm with previous commentors who like the 40's and Jiffy versions better than the "walkaway" (which appears suitable only for very slim figures). As for that last Butterick one --- OMG, I'm quite sure I remember seeing that in pattern catalogs when I was learning to sew in HomeEc class in grade school. I was intrigued by the simple-clever design, although it looks like the kind of garment that would be horribly unflattering on absolutely everyone.

I should also mention that I think the extra fabric required to wrap the skirt modestly is probably the reason that it wasn't popular in the 40's, espoecially in places like Britain that continues rationing.

The Butterick 4699 pattern is one (or very like the one) that my mother made for me and my sister in late 60's or early 70's. We called it "the 3-holed dress." I think there were a couple variations (wine red corduroy with gold rick-rack is working its way thru the jungle of memory).

Great historical review of a pattern and its offspring through the decades!The only comment I ever read about the WAD that stuck in my brain is that the lack of side seams makes the fronts (?) ride up and one ends up tugging on the skirt for modesty's sake. Hmmmm. Sounds like the sides need some buttons to hold them together, at least.

Gertie, cool post, I have some of those, I have always been interested in walkaways and other versions, those were popular among my grandmother and her generation. I also have this one:http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=17109650, if you can pull it up. Walkaways and other wraps were popular housedresses. In Goodfellas, Henry's mom even has a Swirl style dress on, similar to my favorite Simplicity from 1952. The 1945 version you posted is my favorite. Looks like a modified apron and could be really easy to draft, with a muslin.

I also have the Jiffy "Mod" one pictured above (Simplicity 8125, 1968/1969). It's the only one I have actually made and it was a practially unwearable disaster due to creeping and shifting. It was so bad I haven't been motivated to try the others in my stash. Although I wonder if the bodice details on S3967 would solve the creeping problems...